Highlighting the obtuse, the slanted and sometimes just plain ignorant writings found in The Gray Lady

Month: December 2016

It was a mere 15 years ago that another Republican president gave his personal appraisal of Russian dictator Vlad Putin: George W. said he looked into Vlad’s eyes and saw his soul and saw that it was good. That Vlad The Impaler was, for the record: “trustworthy.”

“George, George, George.” Or so his father, H.W. was constantly heard to mutter.

Now we have The Great Imposter Trump glowingly declaring Putin is “very smart.”

Well, compared to GI Trump, we must agree. On the intelligence meter Putin wins hands down against ol’ cotton brains.

First, Putin is a leader who has built his empire on top of his state’s extensive intelligence bureaus. Heck, Putin was brought up as an intelligence agent in the old KGB. When it comes to subterfuge and the effective use of intelligence in the exercise of power Putin is unrivaled in modern history.

GI Trump? He is so scared of the US intelligence agencies that he’s refused to meet with them. He has gone on record repeatedly refuting the authenticity of the intelligence agencies.

Intelligence! Shmelligence!

Can you see Vlad Putin in Moscow licking his lips at what a sucker he’s going to be dealing with?

He’s like LeBron James knowing he’s going 1-on-1 against a pimply-faced middle-schooler.

Game over!

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Vladimir Putin is a master.

He supplied a guided missile that shot down Malaysia Air Flight 17 in the Ukraine killing almost 300 civilians. And nothing happened.

He kills his personal and political enemies using hitmen. And nothing happens.

He controls the media in Russia, controls the economy, controls politics, when he wants to stay in power he changes the rules for term limits.

And now, when he wants to control an American president, he plays him like a puddin’head fiddle.

And the Great Imposter, Trump, trumpets out tweets that are music to a dictator’s ears.

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No. There is no precedence.

An American head of state has never sold the soul of this Republic to a dictator. Especially one as corrupt and murderous and dangerous to the world order as Putin.

After the New York Times disastrous miscalculation on the 2016 election of Donald Trump, they have gone though a much ballyhooed reformation in order to present the world’s affairs to its readers in a – well, some kinda different format.

A very ugly example of this new format has been its coverage of the recent deaths of Pop star George Michael and Film star Debbie Reynolds.

NYT’s writer Wesley Morris threw out extended stories on Michael and Reynolds lives under the creepy title “An Appraisal.”

“An Appraisal?”

Those of us in the civilized world understand “An Appreciation” of someone’s life after they have passed on. But, an “appraisal?”

Appraisals are something you do to a used car. An appraisal is something you do to a piece of property.

After an artist has just died, you do NOT offer up an appraisal.

Unless, of course, you are a crass, wallowing-in-a-moral-morass NYT’s writer.

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Need an example of some “appraisals” from NYT’s writer Morris? How about:

“Who the hell is gonna be named Debbie?” on Ms. Reynolds.

Or calling Ms. Reynolds “a casually narcissistic gorgon of a mother.”

Or his vicious hits on George Michael, just a day after his death, ridiculing his “butch” style or making left-handed cuts about his homosexuality.

Incredulously, this quat writer Morris puts this stuff out in a – yes – casually narcissistic manner meant to be chatty and endearing.

If this dude were ever speaking at a wake, we’re sure he’d end up buried before the person in the casket.

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How about this: Since we can’t trust The New York Times to properly appraise our current political or world situations, why the HELL do they think they can appraise the lives of artists who have done much to add joy to this world?

Of course, Allen has an illustrious history of kicking opposing players in big and obvious ways. Last year it was against Florida State and Louisville. And both times done vindictively, spitefully and with the boy-brat style that can only be pulled off by the coddled and spoiled.

In the Elon game Mssr. Allen went over the top when called for the obvious technical foul. He went full-blown temper-tantrum. Blew up, blew down, beat on chairs, beat on the floor, screamed like a spoiled child and left America looking at the Boy-Brat Player Of The Year.

Congratulations, Grayson Allen! You’re the winner. Of being the smallest player in college basketball.

And for all those commenting on sports sites across the web the troubling conclusion is this: The girl deserved it.

Why? Because prior to getting violently punched out by a massive, muscular athlete, the blond girl pushed him, then slapped him on the neck.

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By the thousands men (and some women) are throwing their weight behind the very flimsy logic that this big man was merely defending himself against this girl.

Tellingly, by the thousands these nitwits are buttressing their logic with the fact that women declare they want equality from men. Therefore, a push and a slap from a much smaller female should certainly be seen as a mortal threat and should be countermanded by a punch with the force to kill.

“They want equality? We’ll GIVE them equality! With our fists!” they all say.

Hmmm….think these people have issues?

Think these people can’t properly process intellectual concepts?

Think these people hate all that “women’s lib” stuff? Think these are all the people who hated Hillary Clinton because she was one of “those” women and really wanted to punch her out?

Think this nation is becoming more violent, more intolerant, more reactionary, less able to grasp fundamental values like, for example, Don’t beat your children or women?

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It’s popular to talk about the crumbling infrastructure of America – meaning roads, bridges, etc.

There’s another infrastructure crumbling in America and the sound is deafening – It’s the sound of the crumbling infrastructure of American Society.

We’re wondering who’s going to stand up and become the leader to rebuild that.

New York Times writers Mark Tracy and Pat Borzi went on the record in their Saturday report that framed the University of Minnesota football players plight as not one of an aggressive gang rape sexual assault but rather a “due process” and “fairness” issue for the perpetrators of the crime.

Well, how’s THAT for a creepy spin?

We suppose when the NFL’s Carolina Panthers Greg Hardy beat his girlfriend to a pulp but consequently got his conviction overturned on a technicality, NYTs writers Tracy and Borzi were thrilled about Hardy’s good fortune on HIS due process and the law’s fairness.

Tracy and Borzi thought it was relevant to tout how beautiful it was that student-athletes are able to rally ’round and organize over good causes.

Wait. These players were boycotting in support of their fellow football players who gang raped a coed. And Tracy/Borzi are applauding this?

These NYTs writers pulled out the example of University of Missouri football players who recently boycotted because of racism on campus…But, wait – That SAME Missouri team was found to be cheating academically by having tutors taking tests and just a few years before was involved in their own campus rape scandal where the victim – a female member of the Missouri swim team – later committed suicide.

You’d think NYTs writers would know this kind of stuff.

Then again, when these same writers think this Minnesota boycott was a good idea because these poor football players were denied due process, you can be assured they don’t know squat.

The ludicrous boycott effort by University of Minnesota football players has collapsed. A Friday night meeting with University President Kaler went down with the clueless lunkhead players not getting anything they demanded so forcefully in their original bullying press conference.

Never in the history of collegiate athletics has an entire team stood “proudly” together to support their fellow players right to gang rape other students.

Yes. All these players knew the facts about the gang rape. Because many of them were there. Many of them shared text messages and video clips of the sexual assault. Many of them collaborated in fabricating lies to police in the following investigation.

STILL they gathered together 120 strong and rallied their troops to call attention for all of America and claim they were victims.

STILL they put out a Twitter campaign using the words and image of Martin Luther King, Jr. that proclaimed THEY – those who organized and attempted to cover-up the sexual assault – were victims.

How clueless are these lunkheads? Here are some of their statements from their boycott-ending press release.

That they expect America to “show support for our team and the great character shown by the great majority of our players.”

Ha! All of America will be rooting against them in that Holiday Bowl, that is, if anyone even watches.

“As football players we know that we…are held to higher standards.”

Do they know that? Did they know that when they were fighting to get into line to sexually assault that incapacitated coed? Why the hell should we believe anything they have to say?

“We want to thank our coaching staff and so many others for their support during this difficult time.”

Again, the PLAYERS were going through a difficult time?! What the hell do you think the poor coed was going through when she was at the hospital after the attack? When she had to go through grilling by cold police officers making her repeat over and over the details of that horrendous experience? Then having her name exposed and having to continue living and working at the same university as all those monsters who did that to her? Is there ANY concept of empathy in the heads of these coddled athletes or is it ALWAYS about them? They are truly living in a bubble where nothing outside their protected world exists.

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This did not take place in a vacuum. Many of the player’s fathers, including Ray Buford, who is a Detroit police officer, were very vocal and public advocates for the players’ actions. You would think parents and police officers would know better. You would think a police officer wouldn’t start advocating for players involved in a sexual assault.

Yes, we would think that. Apparently, that policeman doesn’t.

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Yes, it’s true that just last year the Athletic Director at the University of Minnesota was dismissed for sexual harassment. And that’s not the only incident there. There were plenty of them that can be googled.

So these football players are just the latest – and most egregious – in a long line.

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Let’s hope President Kaler has finally found his big ball bat and is keeping it hung close to his desk for future use on all recalcitrant know-nothings.

In the face of these damning facts it is beyond preposterous that these coddled, spoiled boy-athletes believe that they have the moral right to stand before this nation and present themselves as poor, beleaguered victims seeking justice.

What did they do?

There was a young woman, incapacitated by alcohol, thrown on a bed. The “men” of the University of Minnesota football team then kept her imprisoned in a room, organized themselves enough to stand in line to sexually assault her, sometimes 2 at a time, videotaping it at times, including an underage football recruit in this criminal act, texting other football players to get them to participate in this criminal activity, all the time ignoring the woman’s calls to stop.

And the team’s quarterbacks, their leaders, were in on it, too.

If this is a team, then it’s time to get rid of it.

What makes this more outrageous is Minnesota football coach Tracy Claeys says he is “100%” behind his “boys” actions in standing up for their gang raping friends.

Time for University Pres. Kaler to get rid of Claeys.

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Look at Baylor’s football program. For years its players preyed on the female students at that Christian university in Texas where football is king. And the administration covered it up to the point where they threatened the female victims with expulsions for reporting rape by football players because – get this – sexual activity is grounds for dismissal from Baylor. How’s THAT for a novel way to keep victims silent!

Eventually Baylor’s president, AD and coach were let go, though none admitted any wrongdoing. And the rest of the coaching staff that an investigation determined promoted a dangerous environment for women on campus, was allowed to continue on the payroll and is still there today.

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Need more?

How about Oklahoma’s star running back Joe Mixon, a sure 1st round pick in the NFL draft. Just today a video was released showing him knocking out cold a female student in a restaurant. Mixon was barely punished. Why? Because the girl “pushed” him? We suppose that gives a huge, muscular, coiled, angry football player the right to slam his fist into the face of a little blond girl.

Alabama will be playing for the national championship again this year with illustrious Offensive Coordinator Lane Kiffin on the sidelines.

Well Kiffin just took the head coaching job next year at Florida Atlantic Univ. and his first big athlete signing was…the former Florida State quarterback who was dismissed for knocking out a girl in a bar.

See a pattern here?

Does anyone in America laugh anymore while the NFL constantly runs smiley, happy commercials during their games about how “family-friendly” football is? Commercials showing kids and moms and dads playing joyfully together in a blissful world full of NFL-themed products?

Then back to the games where every five minutes the action must be stopped because a player has been knocked cold by another player’s dirty hit. The concussed player carried off the field, unable to continue, while the player who delivered the dirty hit is assured a highlight on that evening’s sports broadcast and just gets to keep on playing.

Need an example?

Look at the hit on the very talented Darren Sproles last week by Deshazor Everett.

Sproles was out, and is out for this weeks game, too. Everett just keeps playing.

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Is there something wrong with football? It didn’t use to be this way.

Is there something wrong with America? It didn’t use to be this way.

There is definitely something wrong with the twisted, feeble, infantile minds and behavior of the University of Minnesota football team when they believe they are the righteous victims when in truth they are promoting a sick mindset that flies in the face of logic and should outrage all Americans.